Haley spars with Republican rivals at 3rd primary debate as Trump still looms

Ramaswamy took a swipe at the media, claiming that it was "corrupt" and had played up a "hoax" about Trump's relationship with Russia, an apparent reference to the Department of Justice's investigation of the Trump campaign's ties with Russian nationals. He even tried to ask the moderators to answer for this. Ramaswamy essentially took a page out of former House Speaker Newt Gingrich's 2012 debate approach. In the 2012 Republican primary, Gingrich regularly attacked the "elite media" during his debate appearances, and he ended up surging in the polls at two different points in the campaign, even managing to win the South Carolina and Georgia (his home state) primaries.

--Analysis by Geoffrey Skelley of 538

Haley indirectly swiped at Trump over growing economic hardships and his foreign policies, arguing that he has waffled on support for Ukraine amid Russia's invasion.

She also targeted the former president over his gripes over the 2020 election, arguing, "We can't live in the past, we can't live in other headlines."

-ABC News' Tal Axelrod

Asked why he should be the GOP nominee instead of Trump, Ramaswamy continued going after Trump, like others on stage, responding: "We've become a party of losers."

"We got trounced last night in 2023," Ramaswamy said, referring to Tuesday's disappointments for conservatives in Kentucky, Ohio and Virginia, adding that there needs to be "accountability in our party."

-ABC News' Meredith Deliso

NBC's Lester Holt posed the first question of the night to DeSantis, asking him why he should be the nominee instead of Trump.

"Now if you look where we are now, it's a lot different than we were in 2016 and Donald Trump's a lot different guy than he was in 2016," the Florida governor said, immediately setting a tone on stage in which the various candidates more bluntly criticized the absent front-runner -- something they had not done throughout much of the early primary campaign.

"He owes it to you to be on this stage and explain why he should get another chance," DeSantis continued. "He should explain why he didn't have Mexico pay for the border wall. He should explain why he racked up so much debt. He should explain why we didn't drain the swamp. He said Republicans were going to get tired of winning. What we saw last night, I'm sick of Republicans losing. In Florida, I showed how it's done."

-ABC News' Alexandra Hutzler